8:28 AMUS Under Secy of State Victoria Nuland to visit India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Qatar
US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will embark on an official visit to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Qatar from January 28 to February 3.
During her visit to India, Nuland will lead the US-India annual Foreign Office Consultations which cover the full range of bilateral, regional, and global issues and will also meet with young tech leaders, the US Department of State said in an official statement.
In Nepal, the top US official will engage with the new government on the broad agenda of the US partnership with Kathmandu.
8:11 AMOmicron new subvariant XBB.1.5 accounts for over 60% of new Covid infections in US
Omicron's new subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for over 60 per cent of the Covid-19 cases in the US for the week ending January 28, according to data released on Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
XBB.1.5 is spreading quickly in the US. It made up 37.5 per cent of the total cases in the week ending January 14, and rose to 49.5 per cent in the week ending January 21, according to the CDC.
XBB.1.5 is currently the most transmissible variant in the country. The subvariant may spur more Covid-19 cases based on genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, according to the WHO.
8:04 AMNearly half of Britons struggling with soaring cost of running households
Almost half of people in Britain are struggling with a surge in the cost of running their household after inflation hit a four-decade high, a think tank warned.
Some 44% of working-age households were falling behind on rent and mortgage payments in November last year, up from 26% in January 2021, the Resolution Foundation said in a report published Saturday.
The figures, from a survey of 10,470 adults by YouGov Plc, illustrate how the cost-of-living crisis has intensified pressures sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
7:52 AMAmit Shah to visit poll-bound K'taka today; to address rally in Belagavi
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit poll-bound Karnataka on Saturday during which he is expected to inaugurate and participate in various programmes in Dharwad and Belagavi cities.
Besides attending a mega road show, the BJP leader will also address a massive public rally in Belagavi.
With his visit, the party's Karnataka unit is likely to get a boost within the region, considered as a bastion of BJP. Party sources confirmed that Amit Shah is holding a series of meetings to further strengthen the party in north Karnataka region.
7:51 AM'India, China ahead of United States and EU members in many respects': Russian FM Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke at length on the development of new centres of economic power, and financial and political influence and stated that China and India are already ahead of the United States and EU members in a number of ways when it comes to it.
Taking a sharp dig at the US, Lavrov said in his address at a joint news conference in Eritrea, that the establishment of a multi-polar world is an objective and unstoppable process and now the collective West, which includes NATO and the EU, fully controlled by Washington, is trying to reverse this process.
7:50 AMRahul Gandhi alleges security lapse in Bharat Jodo Yatra, J-K Police rejects charge
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that police arrangement "completely collapsed" during Bharat Jodo Yatra on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir and he had "to cancel" his walk.
Senior Congress leaders also alleged that security during had been "mishandled by concerned agencies" on Friday. However, Jammu and Kashmir Police dismissed the allegations of security lapse in the Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered the Valley on Friday.
The Police said steps had been taken to ensure the best possible security for the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra and organisers and managers did not intimate about a large gathering from Banihal joining the Yatra, which thronged near the starting point.
7:50 AMIran condemns deadly armed attack on Azerbaijan embassy in Tehran
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned an armed attack on Azerbaijan's embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran, in which one person was killed and two others injured.
The Ministry's spokesman Nasser Kanaani expressed "deep" sympathy to the assassinated embassy member's family as well as the Azerbaijani government, according to a statement published on the Ministry's website.
He added the assailant has been arrested by police and security forces and is being interrogated, Xinhua news agency reported.
7:50 AMAuckland airport closes amid torrential rain in New Zealand
Torrential rain and wild weather in Auckland on Friday caused disruptions throughout New Zealand's largest city.
Video posted online showed waist-deep water in some places, and authorities were asking residents in flood-prone areas to be prepared in case they needed to evacuate.
Lawmaker Ricardo Menndez posted a video of water surging into residential houses. We've just had to evacuate our home as the water was already rising rapidly and coming in aggressively, he tweeted.
7:49 AMSeven Israelis killed in gun attack at Jerusalem Synagogue
A Palestinian gunman shot to death seven Israelis in an attack on a synagogue in a Jewish neighborhood of East Jerusalem as tensions soared following the Thursday killing of nine Palestinians in a clash with Israeli security officials in the West Bank.
Police who raced to the scene shot and killed the assailant. Israeli media reported he was 21, from East Jerusalem and without a history of political violence.
It was one of the highest death tolls in an attack on Israelis in years and was bound to lead to exceptional outrage since the dead were worshipers leaving Sabbath prayers.
7:49 AMBJP may tie up again with NPP in Meghalaya after Feb 27 polls
BJP's national Vice President M Chuba Ao on Friday did not rule out the option of forging an alliance with the National People's Party (NPP) in Meghalaya after the February 27 Assembly polls.
The relationship between the BJP and the NPP, which leads the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition government, soured due to various reasons specially since the BJP's state Vice President Bernard N. Marak was arrested on July 25 last year for allegedly running a 'brothel'.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma is the National President of the NPP, the only national party from the northeastern region. The BJP with two MLAs (including a minister) is the partner of the MDA government.
 "Jairam Ramesh")
